Комментарий к Берешит 42:28

וגם הנה באמתחתי AND, LO, IT IS EVEN IN MY SACK — the money also (גם) is in it together with the grain.

מה זאת עשה, how can this be a retribution by G’d in the nature of “tit for tat,” that He has added money for us!? How could we profit by our sin to become enriched by it?

מה זאת עשה אלוקים לנו?. Why would G’d put such ideas in the heart of a person (the ruler) who described himself as “G’d-fearing?” This is also why later, after the goblet had been found in the sack of Binyamin, the brothers offered themselves as slaves to Joseph, feeling that this would be the appropriate punishment for their having sold Joseph into slavery. (43,18). Still, they felt that selling Joseph had not been intended to be detrimental to him; rather seeing they had considered themselves endangered by him as a רודף, they considered this at the time as mild compared to killing him, which they thought they were entitled to do. The very fact that they had not killed him at the time they had considered as proof of their brotherly love

ויצא לבם, as Joseph expected, discovery of the money was a major shock for them. The expression used by the Torah for this emotion is also found in Song of Songs 5,6 נפשי יצאה בדברו, “I fainted because of what he said.”

מה זאת עשה אלו-הים לנו, “What is this that G’d had done to us?” They felt that G’d had repaid them for their deception of their father by now making them the victim of deception.

To cause us to be falsely accused... Accordingly, “What is this?” means: “What evil is this?” It does not mean, “What good [is this, that our money was returned]?” Otherwise, why does it say, “And they trembled”?

Der Schreck war um so größer, da er sein Geld in seinem Beutel wiederfand, es daher auf eine persönliche Anklage abgesehen zu sein schien. Dass Josef überhaupt ihnen noch diese Verlegenheit bereitete, war ganz im Plane des Ganzen. Er wollte sich ihnen eben völlig als שליט zeigen, wie er alles mit ihnen machen könnte, was er wollte.

מה זאת עשה אלוקים לנו, “what is the meaning of this that G-d has done to us?” They could understand that their brother had been incarcerated as punishment for what they had done to Joseph, when they had not responded to his pleas. They knew that it is the custom of G-d to match the punishment to the crime/sin. But they could not figure out how G-d could punish them by having their money returned to them. This would be the reverse of punishment, as the sinner goes rewarded instead of punished.

מה זאת עשה אלהים לנו WHAT IS THIS THAT GOD HATH DONE UNTO US by bringing us into the danger of this accusation? For the money can only have been put back into our sacks in order to bring an accusation against us.